Egress Lighting System: Are You Prepared for All Possible Catastrophes?

Egress Lighting System: Are You Prepared for All Possible Catastrophes?

An effectively lit egress route can be the difference between life and death. Lighting from a building can be supplied from the main electrical source or backup methods. A well-designed system will turn on any time the electrical supply gets cut off. This switch may be caused by a blown fuse, mechanical issues, or during an emergency. An egress lighting system is required for both commercial and residential structures, ensuring occupants can see if common illumination methods become non-functional. A building will become dark when light is not present, making it impossible for individuals to find their way through hallways and down stairwells to exit locations.

Emergency lighting is not as bright as regular facility illumination, but provides enough visibility for everyone to exit without being harmed. Building code standards provide guidelines for these systems and require them to be installed. During a critical situation many systems can fail to function. As the alarm sounds, the main power may be cut off. Backup illumination is designed to turn on as soon as this occurs to light egress routes.

Fire Safety Signs: A Substantial Egress Identification Component

Fire safety signs supply additional visual egress path location aids. They are designed to include large lettering, the standard running man symbol, and a directional arrow. Additional signs may be used to show where equipment is located or point out obstacles along the exit path. Buildings with multiple floors must have floor level, fire escape, and roof access signing. When combined with a dependable lighting system, these indicators provide an easy to follow route to the nearest exit door. Occupants can use them to locate stairs and make their way to safe exit points throughout your building.

Egress systems rely on backup power to operate in an emergency. They operate separately from the standard electrical dependent items in a facility. Lighting can be generator powered or use a battery pack. Most building codes no longer recommend generator or secondary electrical sources because they are not dependable. These sources may not be operational in the time of need, thus leaving occupants in the dark. Newer structures are incorporating solar lighting to increase system dependability. Structures may use a combination of luminous fire safety signs, markings, and battery powered lighting. Photoluminescent products can pick up the slack to ensure a visible path is present when the backup method fails to illuminate.

If your structure is still relying on generator power to supply electricity to the egress lighting system, it might be time to consider installing battery-powered lighting. Lights need to be inspected and tested each month to ensure each light is providing the proper illumination according to the building code. Remove any items blocking any illumination source from operating efficiently.

Generator powered systems also require maintenance to be completed at regular intervals. Part of this process is testing and repairing generator problems. You can implement luminous signing to be more prepared for lighting failure. Glo-Brite is a manufacturer of code compliant photoluminescent signing. We can provide a secondary low cost visual aid to increase building fire safety.